Place making

Category Background

To ensure that the most sustainable sites are used for development and that the design process, layout structure and form provide a development that is appropriate to the local context and supports a sustainable community.

When considering locations for a new development ,it is resource efficient to use brownfield, contaminated or undeveloped land in an urban location, and also generally desirable to avoid building on land of value for other purposes – such as landscape, biodiversity, high grade agricultural or sports facilities. However designers of new developments need to go further than just finding an appropriate location for a building.

Placemaking is the art of transforming locations and buildings into places where people live, rather than just work or sleep. It is the art of making places, rather than just putting up buildings. It ensures that parks, pavements and neighbourhoods provide lively and attractive locations for people to interact, rather than empty spaces to hurry through to get somewhere else – or worse, to be avoided. Well-designed buildings which reflect the character of the area in which the development is situated provide the backdrops, helping people to navigate around without too much effort, providing a sense of identity and making people want to spend time in the location.

The buildings in well-designed places reduce opportunities for crime. Good development design avoids expanses of blank walls and hidden locations which are not overlooked and feel unsafe. The buildings are fit for the purpose for which they are intended, and efficient in terms of resources and running costs.

As more people use the neighbourhood, this has added benefits such as discouraging crime and making people feel safer, reducing isolation for people who are not able to travel, and increasing the cohesiveness of a community. It encourages people to move about on foot, and to use green spaces, providing mental and physical health benefits.

Good placemaking is a vital part of both regeneration and new developments in urban and rural environments, creating places where businesses wish to locate, and where people wish to live, work and relax.

In addition to good design, housing built needs to be appropriate to local needs, and this requires taking account of size and flexibility of dwellings as well as tenure type. The availability of affordable homes for the lower paid, first time buyers and key workers continues to be a concern.

With these policy issues in mind, this section of the checklist addresses:

  • Effective and efficient use of land
  • Approaches to design, context, landscape and connectivity
  • Re-use of suitable buildings
  • Focus on the pedestrian, safety and navigability
  • Local character
  • Access to green space and play space
  • Affordable housing
  • Lighting strategy.